Guardian Visa

One parent or legal guardian of a student visa holder aged 17 years or younger to be issued a visitor’s visa for the same validity as the student visa holder. These visas may be extended in line with the student’s visa.

Student visas will only be granted to students enrolled in Years 1 to 8 of a school and students aged 13 and under who are enrolled in any other provider if they will be living in New Zealand with their legal guardian unless they are:

• domestic students;
• students enrolled in a school hostel approved by the Code Administrator;
• students enrolled in Years 7 or 8 of a school, or are aged 11 to 13 years and enrolled in any other provider, which has prior programme approval from the Code Administrator.

Guardians are not permitted to leave their children in NZ on their own and should they do this, the student visa maybe revoked. In addition, holder of a visa granted under these instructions will become liable for deportation if the student whom the applicant accompanied to New Zealand becomes liable for deportation.

For the purposes of these instructions, a 'legal guardian' is defined as a person (a) with the legal right and responsibility to provide for the care (including education and health) of an international student. This includes the student's biological or adoptive parents, testamentary guardian, or court-appointed guardian; and (b) who usually provides for the care of the student in the student's home country.

Lodging Your Application

• Visitor’s Visa Application Form INZ1017 fully completed in English and signed.
• Photograph: Two recent passport sized photographs.
•  Application Fee in Korean won must be paid by Cash; Cashier’s cheque or Korean vouchers issued by the Korean Post Office (Refer to ‘Visa Application Fee’). Please note that fees are subject to change without prior notice.
• Passport: Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the date you intend to depart New Zealand.
• For non-Korean nationals, original and copy of evidence of residence status in the country where you are currently residing (work, student, dependant or long-term visit pass, permanent residence, etc) AND
  Certificate of the Facts of Alien Registration (외국인 등록 사실 증명서) issued from a Korean Immigration Office.
  Certificate of the Facts Concerning the Entry & Exit (출입국에 관한 사실 증명서) issued from a Korean Immigration Office.
• Evidence of Funds
  Please provide bank statements for the last 6 months in your name or a letter from the bank stating the balance amount in your account
  • Applicants must have either funds of at least NZ$1,000 per month for maintenance and accommodation, or NZ$400 per month if the    accommodation has been prepaid (eg, prepaid hotel vouchers)
  • You will need additional funds to purchase a ticket to a country to which you have the right of entry.
• Copy of the accompanying child(ren) student visa(s).
• Birth Certificate Evidence of relationship to student visa holder
• NB: For Korean Nationals, please submit your Family Relation Certificate and Identification Certificate, or any other documents issued by your home authority where applicable.
• Certified written consent from the other parent who is not accompanying the student visa holder.
• Health requirement 
  If your stay is more than 6 months but less than 12 months – submit X-ray Certificate for Temporary Entry Form INZ 1096 if you hold a passport from a country or have spent more than 3 months in the last 5 years in one or more countries NOT on the List of Low TB Incident Countries.
  • If your stay is more than 12 months – submit a Medical and Chest X-Ray Certificate INZ 1007.
  • The x-ray film is NOT required if your X-ray results are normal.
  • Children under 11 years of age and pregnant women are not required to have an x-ray.
  • The certificate must be less than 3 months old at time your application is submitted. Please refer to our website for an approved list  of   panel doctors and radiologists who can complete your certificate.
• Police Certificates are required if you are aged 17 years and above intending to stay in New Zealand for 24 months or longer.
  • From your country of citizenship, and
  • Any country in which you lived for 5 years or more since the age of 17 years.
  • Police Certificate at time your application is submitted. Korean police certificate obtained in Korea must be accompanied with an official  English translation and notarisation. Self-translation is not accepted.

Important Notes

1. You can bring in, or mail the fully completed application and correct fee to the embassy.

2. Your application may not be accepted if you do not answer all the relevant questions or provide all the required documentation.

3. Lodging a New Zealand visa application with all requested documents does not guarantee your visa will be approved.

4. Application fees are non-refundable.

5. All documents submitted in support of your application must be originals or true copies certified by an authorised person by law to take statutory declarations.

6. Original documents supplied must be in English or attached with an official English translation certified by a recognised translation service. Please also submit photocopies of the document.

7. If you had any immigration problem while staying overseas, you should submit a written explanation on lodgement of your application.

8. All applicants are obliged to notify any significant change that occurs during processing of the application, including after visa is granted. (eg. Change of relationship)

9. Immigration New Zealand reserves the right to request additional information/or attend an interview in the course of assessing an application and to retain information and documents on file.

10. All information provided in support of your application will be subject to verification. If you provide false or misleading information your application may be declined.

11. We will assess whether you are likely to be a genuine guardian. Once a decision is made, there is no appeal right.

12. In some circumstances, your application may be forwarded to the receiving office for your country.

13. Processing Duration: 5 to 10 working days, unless there are circumstances which require further verification; application is forwarded to a handling INZ branch office; or medical / x-ray certificates require to be referred, this may take 4 to 6 weeks to process. We recommend you submit your application 4 weeks before your intended departure date. Applications submitted without the required documents will take longer to process. Please do not purchase an airline ticket before you obtain a visa.

14. If you are granted a visa you must arrive within the validity of the visa. If you are unable to arrive within the validity date of your visa, you must lodge a new application as your visa may have been expired.

15. You must leave New Zealand before the expiry of your visa or face deportation.